title: Reconstruction of soft-tissue defects of the head and neck: radial forearm flap or anterolateral thigh flap?
abstract: This study compared the reliability, practicability and impact to donor site functionality of radial forearm (RF) and anterolateral thigh (ALT) flaps used for the reconstruction of head and neck soft-tissue defects. The clinical data of patients who underwent reconstruction using RF flaps (n = 53) and ALT flaps (n = 21) after tumour ablation were reviewed. Pedicle length, skin area harvested and flap survival rate were compared between the two flap types. A questionnaire was used to compare the patients' perceptions of donor site functionality. Pedicle length did not significantly differ between RF and ALT flaps (7.5 vs. 9 cm, p = 0.733). A significantly larger mean area of skin was harvested in the ALT group than in the RF group (65 vs. 38 cm(2), p = 0.001). Flap survival rates did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.554). Patients in the ALT group were more satisfied with the appearance of the donor sites than were those in the RF group (p = 0.029). Significantly more patients in the RF group complained of donor site numbness than in the ALT group (p = 0.014). No ALT group patients complained of movement impairment or weakness at the donor sites, but 10% of RF group patients experienced impairment (p = 0.014) and 35% felt weakness (p = 0.001). The ALT and RF flaps showed similar practicability and reliability for the reconstruction of soft-tissue defects, but ALT flaps had fewer impacts to donor site functionality than RF flaps.
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Oncology, SUN Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, 651 East Dong Feng Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. drliuww@gmail.com
authors.forename: Wei-Wei
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhu-Ming
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: An-Kui
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xue-Kui
authors.initials: XK
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005542:Forearm / Q000601:surgery*; D006085:Graft Survival; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013848:Thigh / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome